Just like the rest of the art world, mosaic art has fresh discoveries and trends every year. Here on our blog, we’ve talked about trends in color, directions in design, and even new historical discoveries. Each will influence the creativity of artists and designers in 2020 and beyond.

It’s been an exciting year – let’s review the highlights!

A major trend in all areas of design and specifically mosaic art is the use of natural textures and nature-inspired patterns. Drop the word “biophilia” into your conversation, and you’ll impress your friends!

This build at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, designed by Modus Studio, was an award winner in 2019.

This mosaic art soothing style has been a perfect fit for mosaic artists and designers. Since mosaic designs work in every type of environment, even outdoors, they can be utilized in endless ways.

The key principles of this mosaic art look include botanical influences, natural stone textures, and the symmetry of seashell motifs and the Fibonacci spiral.

Use any of these elements to blend the natural looks of nature and the outdoors into your own home.

The Color of the Year

Pantone announced their 2019 Color of the Year: Living Coral. As the eminent color forecasters and authorities suggest, this warm shade is on the cutting edge. Pantone’s color predictions affect all areas of creative expression.

Casacor’s Miami Show House was a huge event this year. 25,000 square feet of the latest looks appeared during Art Basel, including all the latest in mosaic designs and mosaic wall art. We’ll be visiting more of these rooms later in this article. As you can see, the use of coral hues was front and center.

Be prepared in your own home to embrace this color set. (After all, it is very flattering to everyone!) This panel would be stunning as a shower wall, in the garden, or installed in a series on any room’s wall. It comes in several sizes.

If you’d like a sneak peek at next year’s forecasted colors, check out Pantone’s releases for the 2020 Spring/Summer Fashion Week.

Heavens Above! Celestial Influences

As funding has allowed for restoration of important sites such as the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, they’ve been exposing heavenly hosts and skies. Starry themes have entered the world of mosaic wall art, as well.

The Mausoleo di Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy is particularly inspirational.

Blues are always soothing, and the azure tones of these celestially hued pieces are timeless. And, also forward-thinking. Here’s another mosaic art entry from the cutting-edge Casacor Show House.

It might seem that the original scale of this inspiration art can be hard to achieve in your own home or garden. After all, these pieces were meant to awe the visitor, and evoke the limitless skies. However, consider its use – and don’t be afraid to go big, like in this room:

Find coordinating accessories and embrace the sparkle. The prevailing colors are deep and almost neutral. Remember, early mosaic art was lighted by candlelight, and meant to have its own shine and luminosity.

The heavens weren’t just stars. Look for lunar influences everywhere. 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing! No surprise, it’s also on our list of trends.

Even back in 3rd century Rome, these motifs were common. Man’s preoccupation with the heavens was never confined to churches. Ironically, this mosaic art piece is from the Vatican Museum, which had an exhibit celebrating the first Lunar Landing Mission.

Fun fact: The Vatican Museums conserve fragments of lunar rock from the Apollo 11 expedition, as well as the Vatican City State flag taken into space by the astronauts. They’re on display in the Lower Galleries of the Vatican Museums today.

Find your own full moon happiness in our catalog!

New Finds

2019 was a big year for important historical mosaic art finds. Let’s recap a few of them, and explore how they will inspire mosaic designs.

In Palestine, a mosaic depicting fish, birds, and baskets of what might be bread was uncovered near the Sea of Galilee. It may commemorate the historic location of the miracle recorded in the New Testament – or does it?

The 6th century Byzantine mosaic art piece has provoked debate about its meaning, but the charmingly naive depictions of the referenced fauna fall into the color trends in coming years, as well as a trend for simple designs for kitchen and bath areas.

In Germany, a Communist-era glass mosaic piece has been restored. Josep Renau’s Man’s Relationship to Nature and Technology was unveiled in December with much fanfare. More than 70,000 individual tiles were involved in the installation.

The Spanish artist had a style that is in tune with the botanical themes we talked about above. Look closely, and you can see how it pays homage to an ideal society in which nature nurtures human achievement and the two can co-exist harmoniously.

Since the message wasn’t overtly political, the mural survived the transition after the Berlin Wall came down. Today, Renau’s piece seems cheerful and optimistic.

The color scheme he used is absolutely on-trend for the coming years. Some of the color combinations you’ll see at design showcases have the zip of comic book art and the 1980s. Here’s the Art Basel take on the look.

We love the idea. Bright colors and glass mosaic wall art are an amazing way to get ahead of the design trends.

Use them prominently, as a focal point. Kitchen backsplashes, fireplaces, and solarium walls will look fantastic with these pops of color. As a bonus, it’s hard to be glum around this sort of installation. Here’s a large mosaic glass art piece, setting the colors off.

Our last featured 2019 discovery in mosaic art is from Pompeii. As part of the Great Pompeii Project, a house was unearthed with a well-preserved mosaic tile floor. One section features Orion, and the other shows some mysterious tools.

These were not of the type usually depicted in the art of that time. Archaeologists believe that they are actually surveyor’s tools, called Groma. These resembled a plumb and bob line. Actual depictions of the Groma from that period didn’t exist.

As these findings trickle out into the mainstream, expect to see more wonderful depictions of regular Pompeiian life in modern mosaic art. Each year brings new insight and works on display.

We’re Going to Disneyland!

We’re going to close out our 2019 recap with a bit of fun. Disney and mosaic art don’t always pair up in one’s mind, but it can’t be denied that their global empire is always on-trend. Every movie, every theme park, and every magical travel destination is carefully planned out, down to the smallest details. We’re of course delighted that their brand-new Riviera Resort has some incredible mosaic installations.

Disney provided a sneak peek on their blog this month. The new mosaic wall art can be seen on the walkway tunnels in the Orlando resort.

With a common theme of flight, visitors will see the lantern scene from the Rapunzel movie, as well as a night scene from Peter Pan.

These are large installations, utilizing more than a million tile pieces for the Rapunzel piece. Isn’t the arch effect lovely?

What does this mean for mosaic art? We say that this installation will be inspirational to the thousands of visitors who will pass by it weekly. The memory of glowing colors and flight theme will be carried home.

We encourage everyone to add the magic of mosaic art to your lives. Find a mosaic design that brings you joy in our catalog, and place it where you can see it often.

For 2020, what are your design goals? Have any of these trends already influenced your choices this year? Share your photos in our comments!